Mortal Mentality
by Vegeta-Saiyajin-no-Ouji
Summary: Back in Egypt, powerful Gods once existed, governing each aspect of the mortals lives. Most feared was Set - God of Destruction. But he was well-worshipped and protected Men-Nefer. Can the heart of a human bring the arrogant God to his knees?
1. Down To Earth

Well, here it is. My new fanfic. I hope you guys like it, because my new ones have sucked lately. Just a warning though: I did a full format to my computer, so I've lost absolutely everything…Well…I've deliberately deleted everything, rather. So if one of my stories has been deleted, I can't replace it. If one of them does, I'd be grateful to anyone who copies each chapter of the story and sends it to me. Also, I couldn't put this story up straight away because the format also deleted my Internet connection, so I wasn't able to visit the site for several days. Which means I couldn't read your reviews, so I wrote it without your comments. I've decided that Bulma is a Priestess, and Vegeta is Set.

Oh, and Princess Yente, I didn't make it Isis and Osiris, because they were brother and sister…Set was also Osiris's brother, and he killed him.

Anyway…Enjoy.

**_CHAPTER 1 – Down to Earth_**

She looked up at the shrine, her breath stolen from her lungs. The thing was enormous, and one had to stand back – nearly at the entrance of the temple - to be able to see the face of it. A monument to a God, there were several others like it in temples such as this one, but depicting other Gods as well. This particular temple was dedicated to the God of Destruction – Vegeta. Outsiders more commonly knew him as Seth or Set, but those who worshipped him gave him this name as a sign of their devotion and affection.

The statue was made of solid granite, and had taken miners, stonemasons, carpenters and laborers nearly 10 years to build. Vegeta was the patron God of the city of Men-nefer (Memphis) which meant that he was the best known and worshipped out of all of the Gods they believed in. Other lesser known and worshipped Gods and Goddesses were the local deities. These were - Bast (Bastet), Osiris (Asar), Thoth (Tehuti), Ra (Re) and Ptah.

Pictured in the hieroglyphic pictures on the polished marble walls of the temple as having a crocodile head, many workers were punished or killed just for getting the size of him wrong compared to the others or a hand out of place. Priests thought that Vegeta would not be pleased with the mistake and believed it to be a sign of disrespect. Many of the stories depicted on these walls showed him protecting their city or striking down their enemies. Men-nefer had copped the brunt of the recent wars from the Hittites and Libyans, but it still stood due to the protection of their God. It had also flourished in times of food shortages and often had surpluses of grain and game meat, which was sent to other cities that were in the clawed grasp of famine. People believed that Bast, Osiris and their loved 'Seth' was especially pleased with their city, and often brought gifts to the shrines and temples in their area.

Offerings ranged from food, pottery, beer, weapons and wooden figurines and toys. Even the poorest of families had something to give. And safety and comfort was what they were given in return. In the past though, Bast had been angered and brought a plague upon the city, but it was soon remedied with festivals and more shrines and a focus on worshipping their Goddess of the Home for the coming months. Thankfully Vegeta hadn't been displeased and the city had never been overcome by imposing forces and no great losses were recorded whether inside Egypt or in another country.

Snapping out of her dazed stupor, Bulma straightened her decorated linen dress that was embroidered with colours of all kinds and stepped forward. The green marble floors were polished so much that she could see her distorted reflection in it quite well. Several male priests with long golden staffs were either kneeling at the feet of the statue or standing and praying. Gifts of all kinds were placed at the feet of the statue as well, and candles were lit around the room, as well as torches on the walls which covered enveloped the room in it's warmth and flickering glare. The only source of light in that temple was those torches, so it could become quite creepy at night with its silence and moving shadows. The only sounds that could be heard in the main room was the whisperings of the Priests, footsteps, and a person's own breathing.

Bulma shivered a little, although the room was quite warm. Another glance up at the statue followed before she sat her armful of gifts in front of the enormous monument. Carved figurines of slaves and workers, as well as just average people made up some of the gifts. Her mother and father were growing old and sick, so her uncle had to stay home and help them while she brought their gifts with them to each respective God. Food, a dagger, flowers, and a golden-plated goblet made up the rest of the offerings. Placing them with the other gifts from people, she kneeled down back away from it a bit and then bowed low, her arms out on the floor in front of her before her forehead came an inch from the ground. Staying like that for a while she soon sat up so her heels were touching her backside, and her hands came forward into the prayer position.

Staying like this for about 20 minutes as she prayed, Bulma then whispered the last few words and crawled forward, kissing the stone foot of the monument. Blinking, she found it to be nice, warm and soft instead of the cold, gritty granite that it should have been, and had been every time before. With a tilt of her head, she reached out and touched it, but found it to be cold and solid. Maybe it was her imagination. Pushing herself to her feet, her hands pressed together in the prayer position near her chest, and she bowed deeply. If anyone was leaving, they didn't just turn their back on the monument, but rather shuffled backwards until they could only see the feet through the corridor and to the room that housed it. With a happy sigh, she skipped off towards her home.

"Mum! Dad! I'm home! Are you both feeling better?" she called out, smiling as she stepped into their room. Over to the bed where her uncle was sitting next to them, she kissed all of them on the forehead. "I went and gave all of your gifts to the Gods you wanted them to go to. The Priests said that Bast and Osiris were very happy. Vegeta was amiable also. But I made him even happier." sticking her nose up in the air as if she was the Pharaoh's Queen, Bulma soon took a seat next to her bald-headed uncle.

"Bulma, you always say that. If I didn't know better, I'd say you have a crush on the Gods! Or at least one in particular..." Bunny – her mother – laughed, before her body was wracked with coughs.

"Calm down Honey. You'll hurt yourself…" her father mumbled.

Bulma just fumed. "I do not have a crush on him! He's a God! Which reminds me…The strangest thing happened to me. Today when I kissed his foot it actually felt warm like skin, but I touched it with my hand and it just felt cold like it does all the time."

"You're just imagining things again. Just like you were when you came up with that funny thing that exploded. What did you call that again?" her uncle chuckled.

"It's called a rifle, Uncle Krillin." Bulma spoke it through clenched teeth.

"Yeah. That thing. What good is a rifle anyway? Spears and swords always do the trick. You should know that. Heh. You and your crazy inventions."

"Maybe I should invent something that'll make you grow!" she retorted and stormed out of the room.

"…" Krillin blinked. "I'm not that short…Am I?"

_**LATER THAT NIGHT**_

"Well, I'm off to the temple again." Bulma commented, gobbling down the last of her dinner. Wiping her mouth, she washed the dishes in the bucket of water and threw that mess out the window. "Bye mum, dad…. Krillin..." she gave him a playful glare and set off after she had pulled her hood up. The linen dress and cotton cloak swirled around her feet as she walked, and it also protected her not only from the cool night, but the men that stared, waiting for a female to pass by. The golden ahnk around her neck also made her look like a male priest. So letting her wander past as they thought she was a male, Bulma walked towards the looming shape of the temple that cast its shadow over the buildings and wrapped around a person like a blanket.

_**END CHAPTER 1**_

Well? What did you all think? was it any good? Don't forget to Review!


	2. Meet The Gods

Look peoples, I'm going to need more reviews to update these fics. I know I may sound rude and everything, but a fic is nothing unless you know you have support from your readers I was hoping to get at least 10 reviews for each chapter to update, but oh well. Other than that, I have nothing to say here…Except for the fact that I finished Gekido Dance. 

**LAST TIME…**

"_You're just imagining things again. Just like you were when you came up with that funny thing that exploded. What did you call that again?" her uncle chuckled._

"_It's called a rifle, Uncle Krillin." Bulma spoke it through clenched teeth._

"_Yeah. That thing. What good is a rifle anyway? Spears and swords always do the trick. You should know that. Heh. You and your crazy inventions."_

"_Maybe I should invent something that'll make you grow!" she retorted and stormed out of the room._

"…" _Krillin blinked. "I'm not that short…Am I?"_

**LATER THAT NIGHT**

"Well, I'm off to the temple again." Bulma commented, gobbling down the last of her dinner. Wiping her mouth, she washed the dishes in the bucket of water and threw that mess out the window. "Bye mum, dad…. Krillin..." she gave him a playful glare and set off after she had pulled her hood up. The linen dress and cotton cloak swirled around her feet as she walked, and it also protected her not only from the cool night, but the men that stared, waiting for a female to pass by. The golden ahnk around her neck also made her look like a male priest. So letting her wander past as they thought she was a male, Bulma walked towards the looming shape of the temple that cast its shadow over the buildings and wrapped around a person like a blanket.

**CHAPTER 2 – MEET THE GODS**

Back again. This had to be her 500th visit to the temple. She'd be surprised if it wasn't. Wiping the sand free from her shoes, Bulma removed the hood from her head and walked inside the temple. The shoes were soon removed also and she padded into the monument area where she had been previously that day. The lap, shoulders, arms and knees of the statue had been adorned in flowers and candles, which had been scented, so the entire room of the temple smelled of cinnamon and vanilla. Inhaling the pleasant scent, she looked around and didn't find a priest in sight. Though that wasn't unusual. But a closer inspection revealed that a black-cloaked figure was standing at the feet of it and looking up. With a shrug, Bulma walked to the feet and stood next to the person. Neither said a word to each other, and she only offered him a cursory glance before going about her business. But it was as if the person was a statue, because not a muscle was moved. Obviously the man wasn't a priest as he wasn't wearing the decorated clothing of any of the priests or priestesses of any of the Gods or Goddesses in the region. All Bulma could see was from the middle of the bridge of his nose to the middle of his neck due to the light. The hood shadowed all else.

Stretching out with one more glance at him, she removed the ahnk from her neck and placed it amongst the flowers that had been laid out. Dropping to her knees, she began praying. The man was still there when she opened her eyes, but this time his head was turned and tilted down towards her. It was obvious that he was watching her and nothing else, as she could feel his cold gaze upon her. She suddenly began to wonder who he was. The attire was something that many tomb robbers wore, and that frightened her. But the man bent at the waist and held out his hand to her. Reluctantly and cautiously she took his hand and let him help her to her feet. Dusting her clothing off, she raised an eyebrow at him as he turned back to look at the enormous statue. "Amazing…Isn't it?"

It was the first time she had heard him speak. "Yes…It's a brilliant piece of work. No wonder the Gods are appeased with the offerings we give them." She had noted that the man had quite a rasp in his voice, and from what she could see, he was darkly tanned. The tan was very common, but the rasp wasn't. Attributing it to the fact he must have been a soldier and got an injury to his throat, Bulma yawned a little. "So…Do you worship Seth? Or do you have another favorite God? You don't seem to be from this city." she used Vegeta's formal name just in case he wasn't from Egypt.

"I'm not from this city, but I do visit it. And as for the Gods…You could say that I believe in them...But I don't worship them…"

This just confused Bulma. Just a few words and she could see he was quite cryptic in what he said. Not wasting energy in trying to decipher what he told her, Bulma spoke once more. "Well…I'd better be getting home then…Will you be here tomorrow?" she asked, trying to be polite.

"I'll see what I can do…"

Shaking her head at his confusing words, Bulma left with a goodbye. Just as she exited the room, the man pulled back his hood to reveal his regal features and flame-shaped hair that bore a striking resemblance to the statue behind him.

Turning back around, he looked up at the statue. "Hm…Nose is a bit big…" he smirked as he heard the booming voice after his comment.

"Brother…Don't be so picky." another figure soon appeared in the darkness of the corner, and it was revealed he looked much like a Pharaoh in appearance with his crook and flail, white linen garbs, fake beard that hooked around his ears and the double crown that symbolized the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt.

"Hn…Osiris…Brother…What are you doing spying on me?"

"Making sure you stay out of trouble."

"Pft. You worry too much. I'm fine by myself. I'm the God of Destruction!" he laughed.

Osiris sighed and then mumbled, walking back to the corner and slowly fading away. "Even Gods can be brought to their knees by the right person…" with that, he was gone.

**END CHAPTER 2**

Eh…Short…Oh well…Hope you guys liked it. Don't forget to tell me what you think! Foams at the mouth, waiting for more reviews


	3. I Will Survive

Hope you guys liked the last chapter. I certainly got a lot of reviews!

**_LAST TIME_**

"_Hn…Osiris…Brother…What are you doing spying on me?"_

"_Making sure you stay out of trouble."_

"_Pft. You worry too much. I'm fine by myself. I'm the God of Destruction!" he laughed. _

_Osiris sighed and then mumbled, walking back to the corner and slowly fading away. "Even Gods can be brought to their knees by the right person…" with that, he was gone._

**_CHAPTER 3 – I WILL SURVIVE (WITHOUT A BED)_**

"Mum! Dad!" Bulma called out when she got home that night. "I met this strange man in the temple. He wasn't one of the Priests, because he looked more like a tomb robber than anything." She shivered a little, shedding her cloak to drape over one of the chairs. Wandering into her parent's bedroom, she proceeded to tell them all about him.

"Perhaps you should have talked to one of the Priests about him? He could have been dangerous and wanting to steal things from the temple." Her father suggested.

"Probably, but although he seemed creepy, he actually was quite polite and seemed to be gentle in a way. He didn't seem to look like he wanted to steal anything, but he wasn't praying. He certainly wasn't a Priest, and I doubt he used to be one either because from what I could see he looked only about a year or so older than I did. And the garments he wore weren't a Priest's either." She told them

"Maybe he worships Seth in a different country and didn't know what the Priests dress like here?" her father suggested again.

"I doubt it, dad. He looked Egyptian to me. Quite a dark tan like we all have. " Bulma seemed to be puzzled. "Oh well. He said that he'd meet me at the temple tomorrow. I'll ask him!" leaning over she kissed them both on the forehead.

"Bulma!" her mother scolded her. "No temple is a meeting place to find a boyfriend. You should be ashamed of yourself."

Bulma swept her Kingfisher-blue hair out of the way with a grin and skipped off to her own room, knowing that her parents couldn't do a thing about it.

**_THE NEXT MORNING_**

Bulma placed the flowers and carved figures from her parents into the basket and then her own offerings in there as well after feeding them their breakfast. It pained her to see them holed up in bed like that, but there was nothing she could do unless Bast helped. That temple was first on her list so that she was able to pray for her parents. Buying some food from the market for herself and her favorite God, she placed that in the basket after eating her own and made her way to the enormous temple. Receiving a blessing from Ahmenhotep, the head Priest at that particular temple, she saw no sign of the mysterious man she met the night before. Perhaps he was a Priest that came to visit off-hours or something. That made sense. But even so, shouldn't he be here to meet her like he said he would?

Sighing, Bulma laid out her gifts for the mighty Vegeta and began to pray in much the same way she had done many times before. Sitting there, her mind began to wander. Perhaps he always worked there on the night shift. After all, she had only visited the temple once at night when she was 10 and that was with her parents. Standing up and grabbing the basket, she turned around to take a step and walked straight into a stone pillar that held the roof up. Letting out a loud "OOOF!" she was sure the gods were laughing at her as she landed hard on her backside. "God damn it!" she growled, but covered her mouth with wide eyes. "I didn't mean it! I'm sorry! Forgive me!"

The pillar that she had ran into leaned down and helped her to her feet. "You should probably look before you start walking." it told her with a smirk.

Bulma looked up. It was the black-cloaked man from the other night. "Oh! I ran into you! I'm really sorry." She let him help her to her feet before she dusted herself off and made sure he was alright. In the light of the temple, he honestly did look like a tomb robber.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me. I think I should worrying that my chest didn't give you brain damage." he chuckled, seeming the total opposite of the non-talkative stranger she had met the other night. A hint of colour came to her cheeks.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked, obviously embarrassed.

"As long as I needed to." There he was again with his cryptic answers. "Come on. Let's go. You obviously wanted to talk to me about something." He lead her out of the temple and back into the harsh sunlight in which Bulma pulled out a white headdress to put over herself and took the cloak off to drape over her arm. The man didn't do any such thing, and kept both hood and cloak on. The only difference about him this time is that he wore a large golden ahnk around his neck and over his clothing, looking exactly like the one she had used as an offering the other night. It didn't bother her though, as the goldsmith where she had got it from made many of them.

"How can you still be wearing that, Sir? It's much too hot. And I believe that we never introduced ourselves." Holding out her hand, she smiled. "I'm Bulma."

The man under the cloak chuckled. "I'm not taking it off because I'm not hot." when she introduced, he panicked on the inside. 'What on earth am I supposed to say now? I can introduce myself as a God!' he thought to himself, but put a white-toothed smile on his face and shook her hand. "I'm…Akhensetaten." He lied, though it was impossible to tell. "Jut call me Set." he grinned.

"Ha Ha. Someone's got a little ego problem." She grinned right back at him, referring to the fact he was giving himself a God's name. "Then Set it is, if that's what you want me to call you. I don't know how you aren't hot though. You MUST be a God if you can stand there in this heat and not feel it. And that cloak as well. I could just about bow at your feet." She laughed.

'Little One…You already do.' He thought to himself with another smirk. "Feel free to do so any time!" Vegeta laughed in return.

"You certainly have an ego like a God." she grinned, giving him a playful nudge.

"And why shouldn't I?" he played along, giving a random flex or two as they walked. Bulma reached up and felt one bicep.

Her eyebrows raised. "I'm impressed." a few seconds of silence followed before they both burst out laughing. Carrying on towards the market, 'Set' paid for drinks and food. Bulma noticed with some interest that the pouch inside his cloak was filled tot he brim with coins of all sorts, pushing it in to a very irregular shape like a ball with spikes under the material on all sides. Tying the pouch back to his waist, they soon got their drinks and sipped on them while the food arrived.

They talked over lunch, and had quite a god time together. The same routine happened over the next few weeks, and they became closer and closer friends. Seeing as how it was now quite late at night and Akhensetaten told Bulma that his home was right on the other side of the city, she invited him to stay the night at her home. Nothing that it was in between a lower class and a middle class area, he was impressed. He didn't actually expect her to be lower class as she was much too beautiful for such a thing. In fact, he was quite surprised when he found that they were leaning more towards poverty than prosperity. He made no comment though. She did that for him.

"Sorry about the mess and all that. It's probably nowhere near what you are used to, living in the upper class area and all, but my parents are sick and they have no son. I have to work hard to keep us all." She whispered, not wanting to wake them up. As they both crept through the building towards the spare room, the black-cloaked man soon found he was cracked across the skull from behind with a metal object. Stumbling forward, Bulma had heard the metallic thump and turned around. Her friend had been knocked over the head with a skillet.

"What the-…"Bulma spun around with her wood torch, and soon found that someone other than her parents was in her home. Vegeta sank to the floor, holding his head. "Chi-Chi?" Bulma peered forward.

"Bulma! This man was sneaking behind you!" exclaimed her lifetime friend that had recently come back from her trip to England to surprise Bulma.

"I know that, Chi! He's my friend! A noble at that!"

"Oops." There was a moment of silence before Vegeta staggered back to his feet.

"Nice to meet you too…" he slurred, still stunned that she actually managed to knock him down.

"Er. Heh Heh. You looked like a tomb robber or something."

He blinked from under the hood. "Yes…And tomb robbers are nobles that follow people down to this area of town to steal things." he put it bluntly.

"Are you for real?! Chi-Chi! Out of the way!" cried a childish voice, and Bulma was forced to raise the torch higher so she could see the taller man's face.

"Goku!" she yelled excitedly, leaping for the two to hug them tightly. "How was your trip to England? Did Gohan have fun?" she questioned them, but suddenly realized something. "You guys are staying in the guest room then, huh?"

Chi-Chi and Goku nodded. "And Gohan has the cot because there isn't enough room in the bed with us." Bulma frowned, but got a horrified look on her face when she realized that the only other place that Akhensetaten could sleep was in her own double bed.

**_END CHAPTER_**

Well, I think that's a wonderful place to stop. Tune in next time for the next chapter – "Underneath Your Clothes." Don't forget to R&R! (Warning: Next chapter contains a lemon. If you are affected by it, then you shouldn't be reading this story.)


End file.
